Catheters are widely used to treat patients requiring a variety of medical procedures. Catheters can either be acute, or temporary, for short-term use or chronic for long-term treatment. Catheters are commonly caped into central veins (such as the vena cava) from peripheral vein sites to provide access to a patient's vascular system.
In a IV dispensing system, one end of a luer connector includes a fluid line which is connected to a fluid source, such as a IV bag filled with fluid. The other end of the male luer connector may be removably attached to one end of a female needleless luer connector. The other end of the female needleless luer connector may be attached to a catheter that has been caped into a patient.
When the male luer connector and the female needleless luer connector are attached to each other, fluid from the IV bag can flow into the patient. These connectors are often separated from each other at various times, for example, when a patient needs to use the bathroom. When the connectors are disengaged from each other, the connectors are exposed and are prone to contamination. Current procedures to reduce contamination of the connectors involve swabbing the connectors with a disinfection. These procedures are prone to human error and are often not implemented. Furthermore, when a male luer connector is disengaged from a female needleless connector, there is no standard manner in which to store the male luer connector, and protect it, until it is reattached to the female connector.